Where We Stand Preview blog posts represent the opinion of the author and do not represent the view of East-West Gateway of Governments. This post is part of the Where We Stand 7th Edition Preview Blog Series. View other posts in the series here.

No factor is more crucial to the St. Louis region’s future economic vitality and competitive position in the global marketplace than education. Employment, earnings and community wealth increase as educational attainment levels increase.

In today’s knowledge-based economy, where businesses and economic developers rely on college attainment statistics to assess workforce quality,

By Mary Lazare, Vice President of Home and Community Based Services, Lutheran Senior Services

Where We Stand Preview blog posts represent the opinion of the author and do not represent the view of East-West Gateway of Governments. This post is part of the Where We Stand 7th Edition Preview Blog Series. View other posts in the series here.

Compared to our peer MSA’s, St. Louis stands out as having a significant older adult population, including older adults with disabilities and those living alone. The older adult population (65 and over) represents 14.4 percent of our total population. That percentage equates to over 404,000 people, and 113,000 of these seniors are

By Shay Schindler, Transportation Planner, East-West Gateway Council of Governments

Where We Stand Preview blog posts represent the opinion of the author and do not represent the view of East-West Gateway of Governments. This post is part of the Where We Stand 7th Edition Preview Blog Series. View other posts in the series here.

The tragic story of LaTonya Williams does not typify commuting reality for most residents of St. Louis, but for those without a car and dependent on public transit or other ways to get to work, her story is painfully familiar.

On November 7th last year, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first told the story of 18-year-old

Historically, one popular catch phrase that summed up St. Louis was “first in booze, first in shoes, and last in the American League.”

That description was from the middle of the previous century, when the city was known for its number and output of breweries, its pre-eminence in shoe production, and, alas, for the St. Louis Browns consistently finishing last in the American League.

Long ago the brewery on Pestalozzi Street lost its distinction of being the largest single-site brewery for production of beer. That status was taken over by the Coors brewery in Golden, Co. Anheuser Busch was taken over by InBev, and the new beer magnate maintains the